Illegal logging in the Russian Far East: global demand and taiga destruction The Forest Program of WWF Russia The Forest Program of WWF Russia is part of the global forest program of the WWF network. It is focused on the conservation of forests through their protection and regeneration, as well as their sustainable management. The goals of the Forest Program of WWF Russia: • promotion of the concept of sustainable forest management that considers the interests of all stakeholders; • improvement of forest legislation in Russia; • prevention of illegal logging; • conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of high conservation value forests; • support of ecologically responsible forest business; • implementation of forest climate projects; • promotion of voluntary forest certification under the FSC standards. ILLEGAL LOGGING IN THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST: GLOBAL DEMAND AND TAIGA DESTRUCTION Illegal logging in the Russian Far East: global demand and taiga destruction. Smirnov, D.Y. (ed.) Kabanets, A.G., Milakovsky, B.J., Lepeshkin, E.A., Sychikov, D.V. 2013. WWF, Moscow. 39 p. Illegal logging of valuable temperate hardwoods has reached crisis proportions in the Russian Far East. Comparative analysis conducted by WWF Russia shows that from the period 2004-2011 the volume of Mongolian oak (the most valuable hardwood species) logged for export to China exceeded authorized logging volumes by 2-4 times. Much of this illegal logging takes place in the habitats of the Amur tiger and leads to their degradation. The materials included in this report are pertinent in the context of new legislation in the European Union, United States and other countries aimed at the exclusion of illegally sourced wood products, given that a signifi cant proportion of the illegal timber logged in the Russian Far East enters such markets in the form of Chinese-manufactured furniture and fl ooring. This report is applicable for use by public forest agencies, forest industry, NGOs, students and academics and all those who are not indifferent to the fate of Russian forests. Technical editor: Anatoly Kuritsyn, Ph.D., Director of “LesExpert LLC” Translation: Brian Milakovsky, Nikolay Shmatkov The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their help in the publication of this report: Yuri Darman, Konstantin Kobyakov, Elena Kopylova, Elena Kulikova, Evgeniy Shvarts, Nikolay Shmatkov (WWF Russia) Citation of WWF is mandatory in the case of full or partial reproduction of this report. This report is distributed free of charge. On the cover: Illegal logging poses serious risk to the long-term survival of the Amur tiger. Photo © Valery Maleev / WWF Russia © Text, photographs. WWF Russia, 2013. All rights reserved. RUSSIAN GERMAN CLIMATE INITIATIVE Executive Summary llegal logging of valuable temperate hardwoods has reached crisis Iproportions in the Russian Far East. Ten years ago WWF raised the alarm about the growing rate of illegal logging in the Far East and warned that without strong measures from federal and provincial authorities, criminalization of the region’s forest sector and exhaustion of its valuable hardwood stocks were inevitable. Unfortunately, the reality in 2013 exceeds even these harsh predictions. Comparative analysis of export data show that from 2004–2011 2–4 times more oak timber was logged for export to China than was legally permitted. Chinese fl ooring and furniture manufacturers are sourcing Russian Far East hardwoods such as Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica), Manchurian ash (Fraxinus mandschurica), Japanese elm (Ulmus propinqua), Amur linden (Tilia amurensis) and Manchurian linden (Tilia manshurica) at a rate that far outstrips the legal and sustainable supply. Many of their fi nished products are destined for US, European and Japanese markets, where they are purchased by unsuspecting consumers. Global companies that are importing Chinese furniture and fl ooring made from Far Eastern hardwoods face major risks of violating legislation such as the US Lacey Act, EU Timber Regulations and Japanese Green Purchasing Policy. This report summarizes case studies and on-the-ground fi eld observations over 10 years of investigations. These investigations reveal a sobering reality: The location of illegal the forest management system has become deeply criminalized, allowing illegal logging case studies loggers to plunder valuable timber stocks with impunity. mentioned in this report and the range of Amur tiger The impacts of this rampant criminality in the “Ussuri Taiga” of the Russian in the Russian Far East. Far East are devastating both for wildlife and local people and industry. Executive Summary 3 Law-abiding timber companies are undermined by illegal competitors. Illegal logging degrades key habitats of the endangered Amur tiger, reducing critical food supplies for the predators and their prey. It also exposes these wildlife species to heightened poaching pressure by increasing road access and human presence in previously remote forest areas. Forest degradation from illegal logging threatens traditional livelihoods of taiga villagers and indigenous people, including hunting, forest beekeeping and pine nut collection. The region’s unique Korean pine – broadleaf forests, Russia’s most biodiverse, face severe degradation. The exhaustion of valuable hardwood stocks in managed forests by timber theft is driving legal and illegal loggers into sensitive forest areas not zoned for ommercial logging (e.g. riparian buffers, pine nut harvesting zones, wildlife reserves). Such areas support some of the last intact virgin forests in the region. The best example is the virgin forests of the Bikin River basin, the largest tract of old-growth mixed temperate forests in the world, the homeland of the Udege indigenous people and critical habitat for the endangered Amur tiger. The struggle to keep logging out of these critically important forests has become constant. Federal and regional authorities have recognized the importance of resolving the illegal logging crisis. This report also highlights positive examples of cooperative efforts by forestry offi cials, law enforcement and NGOs to counteract illegal logging, for instance in the south of Khabarovsky Province. This report constitutes WWF’s recommendations for resolving the illegal logging crisis in Russia’s last tiger forests. Governments, Companies and Consumers can all play a role in solving this illegal logging crisis. The Russian federal government and provincial administrations should take serious action to restore forest management in the Russian Far East by: • Allowing public access to all timber harvest authorization documents, providing greater transparency and public participation to detect and prevent illegal logging; • Increasing oversight and regulatory control of so-called “intermediate harvesting” to close widely abused loopholes for illegal loggers; • Instituting new government regulation that holds forest leaseholders responsible for the detection and reporting of illegal logging on their territories; • Regularly patrolling high-risk forest regions with joint participation of forest rangers, law enforcement offi cials, local citizens and NGO representatives to discourage corruption; • Conducting a comprehensive re-assessment of valuable hardwood stocks to adjust permitted logging volumes to sustainable levels; 4 Illegal logging in the Russian Far East: global demand and taiga destruction The Chinese and Russian governments should work together to integrate their respective documentation systems for the transportation of wood products, so that the specifi c origin of hardwood imported to China remains known throughout the supply chain. Governments of importing countries such as China, Japan, the US and EU member states should strengthen implementation and enforcement of laws against importation of illegal wood, such as the US Lacey Act and the EU Stocks of valuable Timber Regulations. hardwoods in the Russian Far Global companies that are importing high risk wood and wood products East are being rapidly such as furniture and fl ooring can mitigate risks by adopting one of the exhausted to feed following approaches: unsustainable global • For products made with Russian oak, ash, elm or linden, exclusively demand for wood purchase wood products certifi ed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), products such realizing the supply of certifi ed Russian Far Eastern hardwoods is limited; as furniture and • If FSC is not available but sourcing must continue, establish rigorous fl ooring. Immediate legality confi rmation systems that go far beyond “collecting the right action must be documents” and that incorporate 3rd party auditors and Russian civil taken collectively society stakeholders; by governments, • In the case that neither of the above approaches is possible, avoiding any companies and furniture, fl ooring or other wood products made from hardwoods that could consumers to combat be of Russian Far East origin (oak, ash, elm, linden). illegal logging and exclude illegal timber Consumers can purchase FSC-certifi ed fl ooring or furniture. from the fl ooring and This is the easiest way to ensure that purchases are not contributing furniture market. to the degradation of the Russian Far East’s last tiger habitat. Executive Summary 5 Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................... 3 Glossary ........................................................................................ 7 Introduction ..................................................................................